Challenging
by Nova-Janna
Summary: Sequel to Pick of the Litter. Blaise, Hannah, Hermione, and Draco live together four years after school. Hermione issues challenges, they attempt to own a bookstore, and Draco and Hermione still call each other Malfoy and Granger. BlaiseHannah, DracoHermi
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**A/N: This is the sequel to "Pick of the Litter". Though it is probably not necessary that you read it first, the background is good to have, and you'll (most likely) believe the situations and characters in this fic more easily if you read Pick of the Litter first. **

**For those of you who read Pick of the Litter…I've been away from DMHG fanfiction for a long time, and I wanted to get back into it…And I loved these versions of the characters so much that I felt a sequel was necessary. On with the fic…**

If someone had mentioned to a thirteen-year-old Hermione Granger that her best friend – besides Harry and Ron – would be Hannah Abbott by the time she was sixteen, that in her sixth year at Hogwarts she would get together with Draco Malfoy that would be made into an absolutely hilarious fanfic called 'Pick of the Litter', and that by the time she was twenty-two she would be living with Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Hannah Abbott (who were a couple as well) she probably wouldn't even had listened. Because, really, it's such a ridiculous idea to think that two Slytherins, a Hufflepuff, and a Gryffindor could ever really function as roommates.

Not that they were actually functioning.

"**Malfoy," **Hermione called as she entered the apartment the four shared one afternoon.

"Really, it's completely ridiculous that you don't call him Draco," Hannah said as Hermione walked into the kitchen.

"You still refer to Blaise as Zabini on occasion," Hermione retorted, setting down a large pile of books on the counter.

"On occasion," Hannah repeated pointedly.

"I agree with Hannah," Blaise said, joining the two young women and giving Hannah a quick kiss. "What does he have to do, marry you? Will you call him Draco then?"

Hermione was about to responded snappily when Draco suddenly appeared. "I'm sorry, did someone say the word 'marry'?" There was a look of pure terror in his eyes.

Hermione shook her head and sighed. "Don't worry, my commitment-phobic lover, Blaise and Hannah were just commenting – again – on the lack of a first-name basis between us."

"Oh," Draco replied, sighing in relief. "Haven't we explained to them that it's just weird?"

"You've attempted to explain it, but _Hannah _and I don't really understand," Blaise responded.

"Maybe that's because you're dense," Draco muttered.

"Now, now, no need to use that tone of voice with me, young man." After three years of living together, Blaise's grandmother voice had become as frequent as their discussions about first-name basis.

Hannah giggled as Hermione and Draco rolled their eyes in unison. "So, what's for dinner?"

"Just like you to always be thinking about your stomach." Blaise had reverted back to his normal voice.

"Better than to always be thinking about sex," came the quick reply.

"I don't mind him always thinking about sex," Hannah responded, and a passionate snogging session ensued between Blaise and Hannah.

Draco turned to look at Hermione. "Please tell me we're not quite that sickening?"

Hermione matched his disgusted tone. "I don't really want dinner anymore."

**Later that night…**

Hermione lay in bed, reading a book and waiting for Draco to be done in the bathroom.

"Why do you take so long?"

"Why aren't you used to it yet?" He responded from the other side of the door.

"It's just so…girly," Hermione replied, setting her book down and readying herself for a battle.

Draco exited the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, looking livid. "I am not girly."

"You so are," Blaise said, walking past their room.

"Stay out of this!" Draco yelled at his retreating form. "I just care about my appearance. I bet you'd be a lot less attracted to me if I didn't."

"So you don't think you can pull of the devilishly handsome sex god thing without all your products?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Draco faltered. "That's not fair."

"I issue a challenge…"

"No! No, no, no, no, NO!" Draco said, stomping his feet for emphasis. "Your challenges have gotten me into more trouble in the past five years to last me for the rest of my life."

"One wonders why you continue to accept them," Hermione responded wryly, as Draco calmed down substantially and joined her on the bed.

"Because I love you, of course," he said, giving her a kiss.

"I'm still issuing the challenge," Hermione said, pulling away.

"Damn it!"

"**I love these challenges," **Blaise chuckled to himself as Hermione filled him in the next morning at breakfast.

"Well, it shouldn't be that difficult – he just has to last two weeks without all of his products, or magic used to change his image," Hermione responded with an easy shrug, taking a sip of tea.

Hannah entered the kitchen and asked incredulously "You're making Draco go two weeks without any type of beauty enhancers?"

"Dracowould prefer that you didn't call them _beauty _enhancers," a very pompous-sounding and heavily-clothed Draco Malfoy said as he entered the kitchen.

"Well yes..." Blaise responded, "But handsome enhancers is just more difficult to say."

"Besides, you are a bit of a beauty queen," Hannah commented.

Draco gazed pointedly at Hermione. "You are aware you're supposed to defend my honour?"

"He's such a manly-man," Hermione remarked to Hannah, causing a fit of giggles.

Draco huffed.

"So, when does this challenge begin?" Blaise asked, grabbing a piece of toast from Hannah's plate.

"Today," Hermione replied.

"Ah, well, that explains the dark hood pretty much obscuring his face," Blaise said, shooting Draco a glance.

"I could be sun-burned!"

"You're inside!" Hannah exclaimed, grinning.

"But the sun still gets in," Draco responded dramatically.

There was a moment of silence, and then the other three burst out laughing. Draco huffed once again and left the room.

"Oh yeah," Blaise said once he'd regained his composure, "I love these challenges."

**A/N: Just so you know, the entire plot of this fic will not be devoted to this challenge. There will be other characters, other sub-plots, but the main plot will be about owning a bookstore. Please leave a review. **


	2. This is Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry it's so short – I wanted to get a chapter out, but I promise the next one will be longer. This one's for you Sylvia, because you begged for a chapter ASAP.**

When Hermione arrived home the next day after work, Hannah and Blaise were seated at the kitchen table, looking solemn.

"Do you two _ever _do any work?" Hermione asked, setting her bag down on the counter.

"Occasionally," Hannah replied.

"Rarely," Blaise corrected.

"Well, it's a wonder you're able to pay your half of the rent," Hermione said, grabbing a muffin and joining them at the table. "What's with the staring contest?"

"We're not having a staring contest, Hermione," Blaise responded gravely.

"We're attempting to look appropriately somber," Hannah continued, matching his tone.

"Why?" Hermione was suitably curious. "What's wrong?"

"You see, Draco arrived home about ten minutes ago, and he announced something of grave concern to us," Blaise said, a faint smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Hannah turned to Hermione, trying hard not to laugh. "I'm sure you'll agree that it's a matter of deep sadness when we tell you what's happened, Hermione."

Hermione sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "What is it this time?"

"Draco's hair is dead," Blaise stated, and Hannah burst into a fit of giggles, which she tried to disguise as heartbroken tears.

"Did he actually say that?" Hermione asked, sounding skeptical.

"Well actually," Blaise responded, standing up, "What he said was 'My lovely blonde hair is dead! Dead I tell you! Wait until I tell Granger! Then she'll be sorry!'"

Hermione stared at him in wonderment. "It will never cease to amaze me how well you imitate him."

"He's a very imitatable person," Blaise replied, shrugging modestly.

Hannah looked up at Hermione. "I suggest you go console him."

Hermione threw her half-eaten apple at Hannah and walked up the stairs. "Malfoy."

"I'm not speaking to you."

"You are such a petulant child."

"My hair is dead!" Hermione walked up to the bathroom they shared and listened to Malfoy's voice from the other side. She tried the handle and upon finding that it was locked – though it didn't surprise her – she sighed.

"Yes, I know, I heard the whole woeful tale downstairs. It can't be that bad – come out and you can show me what's happened."

Draco opened the door a crack. "I don't know if I should let you see me in this state. It's pretty terrifying."

"Now you're just being silly," Hermione said, smiling at him.

"True." He opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Oh my goodness, it's absolutely terrifying!" Hermione screeched.

Draco covered his head with his hands as best he could. "Is it really that bad?"

"No," Hermione replied, laughing, "There's nothing wrong with it at all. What are you on about?"

"It's sun bleached!"

There was a moment of stunned silence from Hermione. "Malfoy, your hair has always been the blondest blonde….ever."

"And I thought you were supposed to be eloquent," he chided.

"And I thought you were supposed to be smart," Hermione shot back.

"I am smart. I'm of my appearance."

"So apart from this fictional sun bleaching, how was your day?" Hermione asked as they entered their room.

"Not too bad," he replied, sitting down next to her on the bed and giving her a short kiss.

"We should probably get down to dinner," Hermione said, pulling away.

Draco grunted something that sounded like yes and proceeded to continue kissing her.

"Seriously," Hermione said, taking a breath and leaving her hands in his hair, "I like your hair so much better this way."

"Let's go to dinner," Draco grumbled, and Hermione just laughed and followed him.

"**So, how goes day two of the challenge?"** Blaise asked as Hermione came down the stairs the next morning.

"Yes," Hannah replied, her voice comically serious, "Did he pull through yesterday's disaster?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "I think he'll pull through."

"You're not that funny, you know," Draco said, poking her gently from behind.

Hermione turned to face him. "Oh hello, we were just talking about you."

"I noticed."

"His hair looks wet," Blaise observed. "Have you been showering, Draco?"

"Of course I have!"

"But what about the challenge?"

Hermione shot him a disdainful look. "You don't honestly I'm going to stop him from bathing, do you?"

"Well, is he allowed to use shampoo?"

"Yes!"

"That's a hair product, though," Blaise said.

"I would really rather not have greasy hair," Draco responded.

"And besides, you're not the one sleeping with him every night," Hermione added.

"Well I should certainly hope not," Hannah cut in, wrinkling her nose slightly.

"That's not how I meant it!" Hermione protested.

Blaise did not stop muttering 'Bad mental images' to himself all through breakfast.

**A/N: Two things – firstly, please review, and if you had a line you particularly liked, tell me. And secondly, if you have any requests/suggestions for the fic, please tell me and I will try to integrate them in one of the next chapters. That offer stands for the entire fic. Thanks.**


	3. Hermione Buys a Bookstore

It was on the third day of the challenge that Hermione passed by a bookshop on her way home. It was fairly small, and she'd never seen it before, which was shocking. Hermione was worried about getting home on time – after all, she had an antsy Slytherin to look after – but it was a bookshop she'd never seen before! And it was small and comfy looking! Hermione peered in the windows. And they had soft-looking chairs!

Not that she was going to spend any time whatsoever sitting in said chairs, as she was a tad worried about Draco – someday soon he was going to work himself into such a fit over his hair that he was going to die – but she couldn't resist actually entering the store.

"Hello," Hermione said, smiling at the old man behind the counter. He was a squat man, balding, with a pair of reading glasses perched delicately on his nose.

He smiled at her in response, deftly bookmarked his page, and got up from his chair. "How can I help you?"

"Oh, well, I'm not really looking for anything specific – I'll just browse, if that's all right."

"Yes, yes – everything's cheap, very cheap – we're having a sale, you see, I'm retiring and selling the bookshop."

"Oh, that's too bad," Hermione replied, looking woefully around the store. She smiled. "Not that you're retiring, of course, it's just it seems like such a nice store."

"Yes, well…" The man sighed, and sat back down in his chair. Hermione took it as her cue to explore the dusty bookshelves. There were all manner of books lining the shelves, and Hermione, within the space of roughly three minutes, and forty four seconds, had fond about eleven books she would gladly buy. However, she only bought eight of them – because really, she had to show some self-restraint – and one for Draco. (_How to Learn to Love Yourself For Who You Are, And Nothing Else._) Even if Draco nearly murdered her for it, Hermione mused, at least Blaise and Hannah would be suitably amused.

"Perhaps," the man began thoughtfully as he rang her purchases through, "Perhaps you could buy the store."

"I beg your pardon?" Hermione asked, completely taken aback by the offer.

"Well, it's just that you seem like you rather love books," he said hurriedly," And I'd rather not have to sell this spot to someone who'll turn it into something silly or take it down completely, and so I do believe that you'll be quite good at running a book shop, if you don't mind me saying. I'd be willing to sell it to you quite cheap." He looked at her imploringly.

Hermione tried to find the words. "You have certainly guessed my disposition with only a few books, haven't you? I would like to own a bookshop like this, don't get me wrong, it's just that I don't know if my boyfriend and roommates would particularly approve…I don't suppose this bookshop makes a lot of money, does it?" Hermione, though she sounded hesitant, was already sold on the idea and looking wistfully around the store.

"Not an awful lot, no," the man admitted, "But I can see it in your eyes – you've always wanted a bookshop like this, haven't you?"

"Yes," Hermione conceded. "All right. I'll buy it."

Blaise, Hannah, and Draco had already sat down to dinner when Hermione arrived home, a large smile gracing her face and a stack of papers in her hand. "Oh, lovely – I have so been craving Yorkshire pudding," Hermione said, sitting down at the table.

Draco looked curiously at her. "You've done something silly, haven't you?"

"I never do anything silly," Hermione retorted, beginning to serve herself.

"So why are you late?" Hannah asked.

"And so deceptively happy?" Blaise added.

"And not asking about my general well-being, based on your guidelines?" Draco demanded, looking hurt.

"I love your hair when there's no product in it," Hermione said, leaning over and kissing Draco on the cheek. "Hmmm…" She mused, after a moment.

"Hmmm?" Draco asked, looking like he might have a fit at any moment.

"Oh, it's just, your skin's a little dry. Perhaps you should use moisturizer," Hermione concluded, taking a forkful of food. She shot Draco a wry grin.

"I am not amused, Granger," Draco practically growled at her, but when she only shot him another grin in response he continued with his meal. "Though really, I'm sure you've done something silly."

"I haven't done anything silly!" Hermione defended, but she only received mute stares from the other three. "All right, well, I sort of…bought a book store."

Blaise blinked at her, then broke the silence with his gay voice. "Why darling, I'm so proud of you –that's fabulous!"

"Please don't do that," Draco said, then turned to Hermione. "You bought a book store?"

"Yes," Hermione replied.

"Well." Draco sighed, and looked down at his plate, and then back at Hermione. "Well. How can we help?"

"Oh, thank you," Hermione cried, flinging her arms around Draco and kissing him soundly on the mouth.

"If I'd known that catering to your bouts of strangeness would get me that response I would have done it ages ago," Draco observed after they'd pulled away.

"Excuse me!" Blaise said loudly. "Remember the rule? No snogging at the table!"

"Exactly!" Hannah seconded indignantly, pointing an accusing finger at her two friends. "And it's even your bloody rule."

"We only instigated that rule because we were frequently finding you two…engaged-" Hermione began, only to have Draco interrupt her.

"She means very well close to shagging, by the way," Draco said in a blasé tone, smirking at the couple across from him.

"Well, yes," Hermione said, flushing a little. "What he said. And _on _the table, I should like to stress, not just sitting in chairs _around _it."

"My, she is a pedant when she wants to be, isn't she?" Commented Blaise to Hannah, who grinned and nodded.

"We were just in our honeymoon stage, I suppose," Hannah added wistfully, and Blaise threw an arm around her shoulder and began to nuzzle her neck.

"Now you're just trying to be irritating on purpose!" Hermione accused, and Hannah smirked at her.

"What else is Blaise good for?" Draco commented, and Hannah threw a bread roll at him.

"Lots of stuff," Hannah responded slyly, and winked at Draco.

"I didn't need to know that," Draco pointed out, wincing slightly.

"Oh yes," Hermione said to him as she rolled her eyes, "Because your poor virgin ears just can't handle the idea of those two…"

"Shagging?" Blaise said, looking up from Hannah's neck.

"Intercourse?" Hannah put in.

"Fucking."

"Making love."

"Copulating."

"Doing it."

"We could continue," Blaise said, to which Hermione flushed and Draco answered for her.

"No, thank you. I'd rather not have those images ingrained in my mind, and besides, Granger can't even stand to have you say the words."

"That's not true!" Hermione said indignantly, to which everyone sent her knowing looks. "Well, perhaps it is…Shagging just seems like such a rude word."

There was a collective eye roll around the dinner table.

"Who's paying for this book shop, exactly?" Draco asked before Hermione could get offended.

She looked at him hopefully. "I don't mean to do this to you, and I'll pay you back as soon as I can, I promise, I just really wanted to get the bookshop before some developers took it down," she managed in a single breath.

"All right, fine. I suppose I am the one with the most money. But we'll be keeping it mostly as it is?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, and he sold it to me very cheap. It's such an adorable little shop – you'll love it, I'm sure."

Draco nodded. "I'm sure I will."

"So there's no chance of converting this book store into a strip club of some sort?" Blaise suggested wistfully, which earned him a slap from Hannah across the back of the head and a wounded look from Hermione.

"We're going to run the book store, and perhaps for some extra revenue we'll a small bakery as well," Hermione responded tersely.

"Fine, fine," Blaise said, in a mock dejected tone. "I suppose I can please myself with Hannah."

"And perhaps," Hannah said, "After that display, Hannah can please herself."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Blaise grinned, and gave Hannah a quick kiss.

"You're forgiven," Hannah said, laughing and giving him a longer kiss in return.

"Well, that was easy. Now you're going to be expecting me to buy you a bloody bookshop every time I mess up," Draco said, looking over at Blaise and Hannah. Hermione grinned at him. "Anyways, I'm going to go have a shower."

"I'll come with you," Hermione said promptly, and then added, "Just so I can make sure you're not using any excess product or spells on your appearance."

"Of course," Draco replied, and the two left upstairs, ignore the kissing couple.

"And they say we're bad," Hannah said, watching them go.

"Mmm," Blaise mumbled in response. "Wanna do it on the table?"

Hannah grinned. "Ah yes, you read my mind."

**A/N: Long awaited update, I'm sure. I'm going to try to get back in the swing of things, so bear with me. Please review – tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, favourite lines, suggestions, etc. **


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